Getting back up to speed

[DryCreek]

OK, it's been 10 years since our first cruise.  We sailed out of Galveston on the Ecstacy for the 5 day cruise.

It wasn't bad, but my wife wasn't as impressed as she thought she'd be.  Don't get me wrong, the food was great, the ship was relatively clean and we seemed to stay busy, but the onboard entertainment was not very good.  Also, my wife was not at all impressed with Progreso.  She didn't feel comfortable at all there.  I grew up going to small border towns of the RGV here in Texas, so it wasn't that big of a deal to me.  I loved Reynosa as a youngun'. 

 

But, here we are ten years later and we have a bunch of credit card points we need to use before they expire.  I hate to fly.  My wife hates to fly.  We pretty much just hop in the motor home and take a "land cruise" to our destinations now.  So, rather than flying we have decided to take another cruise.  We are looking at the 7 day cruises out of Galveston.  I see that there are essentially two choices for the 7 day cruises - the Vista and the Freedom.  I was looking at the information presented on each of the ships, and I came across a difference between the two.  As far as dining options go, it looks like the Freedom has the traditional dining room listed as a cost included option.  I did not see that clearly listed for the Vista.

The one thing we both enjoyed was having a nice breakfast in the Dining Room every morning (Eggs Benedict, Chicken Sausage).  And, we certainly enjoyed the dinners offered there.  We don't mind throwing on some real clothes for dinner, and we even dressed accordingly for the formal night (slacks, vest, western-cut sports coat, tie, shiny boots - formal dress with slouch boots).

So, could you kind folks get me up to speed on whether or not the Vista has the main dining room as a "cost included" dining option for breakfast and dinner?

 

Are there any other changes I need to know about?  Are we still allowed one 750ml bottle of wine each?  Do they still allow pre-ordering a bottle of Jack Daniels through the Bon Voyage Program?  Are gratuities still $10 per day/per person?

 

Now time for the subjective Battle Royale!  Which ship is better, the Freedom or the Vista?  Please be specific, and remember that you are not talking to a seasoned cruiser.  OK, not a seasoned "commercial vessel cruiser".  I did plenty of cruises aboard a 688 class SSN in the early 80's.  Still, I'd like your opinions on the hits for each vessel, and the misses too.

 

Thanks y'all!

[cruizergal70]

Yes to the MDR. Yes to bringing wine. Yes to pre ordering booze for the room. Check out the Fun Shops on the website. 

 

As far as ships, the Vista is newer. Either way,  the Carnival product is pretty standard across ships. Look more at itinerary.

Edited September 13, 2019 by cruizergal70

[PhillyFan33579]

Yes Vista has an included MDR. Gratuities have increased several dollars since you last cruised.  I would pick Freedom over Vista. However, we enjoy going to shows and especially comedy, and the theaters/lounges on Freedom are far superior to the ones on Vista. However, if you don’t care too much about shows, Vista might be a better choice because it is a newer ship with more amenities. 

[Joe817]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

Yes Vista has an included MDR. Gratuities have increased several dollars since you last cruised.  I would pick Freedom over Vista. However, we enjoy going to shows and especially comedy, and the theaters/lounges on Freedom are far superior to the ones on Vista. However, if you don’t care too much about shows, Vista might be a better choice because it is a newer ship with more amenities. 

We are choosing the Freedom as well. We are cruising  on her next Sept. 2020. Our first sailing was the Dream in late July; 2 months ago. We were overwhelmed with the crowds, as to be expected as school was out. The Freedom is a smaller ship, with not as many things to do, but for us, it's what we need and want. Don't get me wrong, the Dream was beautiful and huge. And the Vista is even larger, with more venues and things to do. We are older now, and desire a 'slower' pace. BTW, not many people here know that 'RGV' stands for: Rio Grande Valley, a major crop growing region in South Texas. Oh. And you all can now bring 2 750ml bottles when you board. The gratuities are now up to around $13.95/person/day. I believe you can still pre order your Jack. 

[DryCreek]

Thanks to all who have replied so far!

Knowing that the MDR is an option helps my planning.  As mentioned, itinerary is important.  Also schedule is important - one sails Saturday to Saturday (better for me) and the other Sunday through Sunday (not a deal breaker, but....).

 

I guess that I just didn't understand the "America's Table" way they presented the MDR.

 

So, each person can bring on TWO bottles of wine (four total for a couple)?

 

I think either ship would be wayyyy larger than the Ecstacy, so there is that issue.

 

We like shows, and my wife enjoys bingo.  Their one-game only bingo sessions was one of the issues my wife wasn't impressed by.

[canes20]

11 minutes ago, DryCreek said:

 

So, each person can bring on TWO bottles of wine (four total for a couple)?

 

No, it's ONE bottle per person over 21

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, DryCreek said:

Are there any other changes I need to know about?  Are we still allowed one 750ml bottle of wine each?  Do they still allow pre-ordering a bottle of Jack Daniels through the Bon Voyage Program?  Are gratuities still $10 per day/per person?

 

Now time for the subjective Battle Royale!  Which ship is better, the Freedom or the Vista?  Please be specific, and remember that you are not talking to a seasoned cruiser.

 

Thanks y'all!

 

All Carnival ships have an MDR that's included with the cruise fare. On a 7-day cruise, there will be two "elegant" nights (formerly known as formal nights). These are the dinners where a lot of people really dress up, but it is much less formal than it used to be. All other nights in the MDR are "cruise casual." You can read more about MDR attire here: https://www.carnival.com/help/1093 They serve breakfast in the MDR every morning on port days and a brunch on sea days. You can also go to the Lido buffet for breakfast.

 

In addition to the MDR, there are other eateries on board. How many and which ones depends on the ship. There are free places like Guy's Burgers, the Pizza Pirate, and Blue Iguana and there are pay-for options as well. There's also specialty restaurants that cost extra for dinner. You can compare the differences between the Freedom & Vista on Carnival's site.

 

Those two ships are two different beasts. The Freedom is a Conquest class ship and the Vista is a Vista class ship (which is the newest and largest class in Carnival's fleet right now). The Dream class ships fall between the Conquest and Vista class, so the size difference is substantial. Vista being larger means more onboard amenities. Again, you can look at Carnival's site to see what each one has. Some things can be found on both ships.

 

You're allowed to take one bottle of wine per drinking-aged adults and up to 12 cans (no bottles) of soda per person. If you want water, 12-packs of bottled water can be purchased ahead of time from the online Fun Shops or ordered from room service once you're on board.

 

Gratuities are $13.99 per day, per person. You can pre-pay them ahead of time, which will include them in your cruise fare, or pay them at the end of the cruise.

 

Their live music shows are now called Playlist Productions. Some people love 'em, some hate 'em. If you're interested, check out this list that shows which shows are on which ships, plus descriptions of each show: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3235

 

I recommend going to Carnival's website and looking at their FAQ's, which cover a majority of their policies and answer a lot of questions. You can get to them from the "Plan" tab at the top of their site.

[CoolOne56]

👍 with everything Organized Chaos said.  Also, on Carnival's website, click the "Explore" tap, select "Ships".  Go down the list and select the Conquest and the Vista, click "Compare".  You will see what is or isn't on each ship.

 

Happy Sails! 🛳️

[DryCreek]

I'm checking the Freedom out now.

 

It looks like we may just go ahead and book the 8 day Eastern Caribbean in February.

 

I have always wanted to visit Key West, and my wife has wanted to visit the Bahamas.

 

Does anybody have any sage advice to offer?

[DryCreek]

23 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

Yes to pre ordering booze for the room. Check out the Fun Shops on the website. 

Whenever I click on the Fun Shops, something strange happens.  It takes me to a page, but I could only order wine selections.  I thought that was odd, then I noticed that the pricing was in either Australian or New Zealand dollars!  The little flag up at the top-right of the page shows an Australian flag.  When I change my location back the US, it takes me back to the home page.  What am I doing wrong here?  I would like to order a bottle of Jack like we did on our first cruise.

I did search their site for the "Bon Voyage Program".  It returned results, but when I clicked on them I was dropped off the end of the pier, figuratively speaking, of course.

 

EDIT - OK, looking near the bottom I found a link to follow under the heading "After Booking", or similar.  I found the good stuff.  My eyes also popped out of my head.  It's looking more like Southern Comfort instead of my buddy Jack for this cruise.  Wow, quite the markup!

Edited September 14, 2019 by DryCreek
dummy me - found link.

[Joe817]

Does this help?

 

https://www.carnival.com/in-room-food-beverages?q=%3Arecommended%3Acategory%3Aliquor

[Organized Chaos]

If you do choose the Freedom, the aft pool is adults only. Then again, being February, there probably won't be too many kids anyway.

 

If you're interested in purchasing Faster To The Fun, it's more than likely sold out for a cruise that close, but you can keep checking it at all hours of the day/night. Sometimes people cancel and their FTTF gets released. Otherwise, check right around that cruise's final payment date. That's a time when people typically cancel, which might open up some FTTF. Or if Carnival decides to release more.

 

Nowadays, room service has a daytime menu from 6am-10pm and a late night menu from 10pm-6a. The daytime menu has some free items as well as some that cost extra. Everything on the late night menu costs extra. Room service menu.

 

9 minutes ago, DryCreek said:

Whenever I click on the Fun Shops, something strange happens.  It takes me to a page, but I could only order wine selections.  I thought that was odd, then I noticed that the pricing was in either Australian or New Zealand dollars!  The little flag up at the top-right of the page shows an Australian flag.  When I change my location back the US, it takes me back to the home page.  What am I doing wrong here?  I would like to order a bottle of Jack like we did on our first cruise.

I did search their site for the "Bon Voyage Program".  It returned results, but when I clicked on them I was dropped off the end of the pier, figuratively speaking, of course.

 

Go to https://www.carnival.com/ and under the Manage tab, click on In-Room Gifts & Shopping. Then look under In-Stateroom Beverages.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[Organized Chaos]

1 minute ago, Joe817 said:

Does this help?

 

https://www.carnival.com/in-room-food-beverages?q=%3Arecommended%3Acategory%3Aliquor

 

Joe, don't ask me why, but that link lead me to a "webpage could not be found" page.

[Joe817]

Gosh O.C., you're really giving some very good tips! Thank you!

[Joe817]

1 minute ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Joe, don't ask me why, but that link lead me to a "webpage could not be found" page.

I dunno why. I brought it up just fine. 

[Organized Chaos]

3 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I dunno why. I brought it up just fine. 

 

That was odd. In Firefox, I got Carnival's error page that says, "Don't Worry, Be Happy. The web page you are looking for could not be found. Sometimes these things happen. Please check the address and try again." So I tried in Edge and got the same thing. But in Chrome, it worked. Third time's the charm.

[Joe817]

Just now, Organized Chaos said:

 

That was odd. In Firefox, I got Carnival's error page that says, "Don't Worry, Be Happy. The web page you are looking for could not be found. Sometimes these things happen. Please check the address and try again." So I tried in Edge and got the same thing. But in Chrome, it worked. Third time's the charm.

Success! Didn't even dawn on me that is was a browser issue. And you're right. I'm using Chrome and have been for the past  3 years. WTG Sherlock! 

[DryCreek]

Wow, Either I am not smart enough to figure this forum out, or it acts kinda' wonky under Edge.

I had edited my post after some quick poking around led to where I needed to be.

 

EDIT - OK, looking near the bottom I found a link to follow under the heading "After Booking", or similar.  I found the good stuff.  My eyes also popped out of my head.  It's looking more like Southern Comfort instead of my buddy Jack for this cruise.  Wow, quite the markup!

 

But I guess not everybody else could see the edit.  every time I tried to post a reply to this thread I get all of my previous post already filled in the dialog box.

 

Weird.....

Edited September 15, 2019 by DryCreek
Becasue I can't make an original, *new* post for some reason!

[DryCreek]

OK, we're booked!

7 Day Western Caribbean, departing Galveston on February 15th 2020.  We booked a Cove Balcony on the Vista - stateroom 2317.

It looks like we have YTD (early seating was not available).  So, with YTD, which dining room will we be seated in?  I was also asked by our TA if we preferred a two-top.  I never knew that was an option.  At least I don't remember being offered that choice on the Ecstacy.

As we get closer we will order our liter of Southern Comfort, and then book a coupe of excursions (Belize and Mahogany Bay).  I plan to get through my due-diligence on the excursions by next month.  Passport renewals should be done by next week.

Is it still taboo to discuss rum-runners and other options?  Don't want the frowny-faced folks to get testy if there are new ideas to be shared.  I do know the one tip given about buying double was spot on (buy two of everything, turn in one of everything when coming back aboard).  Of course that was wayyyy back in 2010.  Times could have changed.

[Organized Chaos]

33 minutes ago, DryCreek said:

OK, we're booked!

7 Day Western Caribbean, departing Galveston on February 15th 2020.  We booked a Cove Balcony on the Vista - stateroom 2317.

It looks like we have YTD (early seating was not available).  So, with YTD, which dining room will we be seated in?  I was also asked by our TA if we preferred a two-top.  I never knew that was an option.  At least I don't remember being offered that choice on the Ecstacy.

 

If you'd prefer Early Dining, you could always put yourself on the Early Dining waitlist. If there are some cancellations and tables for Early become available, they work their way down the waitlist. No guarantees, though, and you may not know for sure if you get it until you check in on embarkation day. Normally you can do it from your Carnival account. I'm not sure if you have to go through your TA.

 

Someone else can probably tell you which MDR is typically used for YTD on Vista, but it'll say which one you're assigned to on your S&S card. With YTD, they'll probably just seat you at a 2-top anyway, but you can request it when you check in for dinner just to be sure. We always have YTD and have never been seated with other people, although I think you can request that too. We've had anywhere from 2-5 people in our group and have always gotten seated at our own table. You'll usually get seated in different wait staff sections every night, but if you find one that you like, you can request their section. Just keep in mind you might have to wait longer if they're full.

 

There isn't much talk about smuggling booze on here. Feelings about it will vary greatly.

[sanger727]

11 hours ago, DryCreek said:

OK, we're booked!

7 Day Western Caribbean, departing Galveston on February 15th 2020.  We booked a Cove Balcony on the Vista - stateroom 2317.

It looks like we have YTD (early seating was not available).  So, with YTD, which dining room will we be seated in?  I was also asked by our TA if we preferred a two-top.  I never knew that was an option.  At least I don't remember being offered that choice on the Ecstacy.

As we get closer we will order our liter of Southern Comfort, and then book a coupe of excursions (Belize and Mahogany Bay).  I plan to get through my due-diligence on the excursions by next month.  Passport renewals should be done by next week.

Is it still taboo to discuss rum-runners and other options?  Don't want the frowny-faced folks to get testy if there are new ideas to be shared.  I do know the one tip given about buying double was spot on (buy two of everything, turn in one of everything when coming back aboard).  Of course that was wayyyy back in 2010.  Times could have changed.

 

As someone else said, you can try and waitlist for early dining if that is your preference. But we love YTD. Always book that option. It's like going to a restaurant at home. No set time or table. Just show up when you are hungry and the assumption is that you'll be sat at a 2 top. If you prefer a larger shared table, I believe you can request that when you check in with the maitre'd but keep in mind that the success of that will be dependent on how many other people coming in around the same time as you want to share a table. But the flexibility is great for us. If you have a long day in port you don't have to rush back to get ready for an early dinner.  

[DryCreek]

"If you have a long day in port you don't have to rush back to get ready for an early dinner.   "

 

A very good point, and one I hadn't thought of!

 

 

•  
•  

 

 

"If you'd prefer Early Dining, you could always put yourself on the Early Dining waitlist."

 

Something else I hadn't thought of... But, the other point has a lot of merit too!

[Organized Chaos]

We like YTD because we never know when we'll be hungry for dinner. Maybe we had a late lunch or snacked in the afternoon and aren't hungry till later. Maybe we're very hungry and want an earlier dinner. It's just so flexible. Also, we don't necessarily know what we're doing from night to night. The option to choose our own dining time gives us wiggle room depending on our evening entertainment choices.

[Lottacruises]

I was going to say freedom, and that 8 day eastern is a good one, I've done it 4 times since they started it in Galveston not too long ago. Freedom is a great ship, perfect for me... but then I saw cove balcony, oh my, I love those cove balconies. Yeah, good choice. Enjoy the Vista and welcome back!

[Lottacruises]

Reading on I say save a little discovery for the ship! Exploring is part of the fun 

Keep on mind mahogany bay has a beach right at the ship that is free and takes a few minutes to walk to. Opinions vary, but I would be very careful in Belize and stick to carnival excursions. It is not a port to wander around in.... in my opinion.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Lottacruises